[3] In early 1864, as the prospect of invasion by the Union army became real, defensive works were built that encircled Atlanta a mile and a half or so from the city center.
On August 4–7, the Union and Confederate armies met at the Battle of Utoy Creek, fought in and around what is now the Cascade Nature Preserve.
The area remained mostly rural farmland throughout the nineteenth century, Cascade Springs was one of several sites around the city hoping to cash in on the rising middle class.
Generally today Cascade might be bounded by I-20 on the north, I-285 on the west, the ridges on the south side of Utoy Creek, and the pre-1954 city limits around Greenwood Cemetery.
Real estate agents stirred up racial tension and benefited from the commissions they earned when fearful homeowners sold their properties, often at a loss, in order to escape the area.
[5][6][7][8] He took the action at the urging of white residents of southwest Atlanta[6] (in particular, one of his high-level employees who lived a short distance from Peyton Road[citation needed]).
A private or charter school K-12th grade education is most common for children living in the Cascade Heights area.
The area experienced some notable decline in the late 20th and early 21st century partly due to many middle-class and upper-middle-class African Americans in Atlanta moving to the suburbs for newer constructed homes or lower crime.
[11][12] Also since 2018, Cascade Heights began to increase in racial diversity and higher income individuals again due to its proximity to downtown, the Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport, and having some of the most affordable renovated large homes within the city limits.